Welcome to Tongham Parish Council
Tongham is a small (but fast-growing) village with a real community feel about it and is classed as a civil parish. We come under Guildford Borough Council and Surrey County Council. From the population abstracts from 1811 until its evolution into a parish the settlement was a rural one large enough in size to be official classed as a statistically recordable hamlet. Tongham’s now dismantled railway with a station was important for transporting materials to build the new military camp of Aldershot from 1856 until 1870 and the row of shops developed from this line. Tongham was originally part of the parish of Seale and Tongham and Seale continued to be linked as Parishes until the first meeting of Tongham Parish Council at 6.30 pm on Monday 21st May 1984. Seale then became Seale and Sands Parish Council. Tongham Church was completed in 1865.
Your Parish Council consists of seven volunteer Councillors and one paid Clerk who works from the community centre in the recreation ground. There are three separately elected borough councillors to Guildford Borough Council.
Tongham Parish Council meets on at 7.30 pm the 3rd Monday of every month except August (and sometimes January) in the Old School Hall, Poyle Road, next door to St Paul’s Church. The public are welcome to attend these meetings, Sub committee meetings are held on second Mondays in camera.
The Clerk works 15 hours a week, he can be found on a Wednesday morning between 10.00 – 13.00 working from the community centre office in the recreation ground on Poyle Road. It is however always recommended to telephone to make sure he is in the office as he does have to go out and about frequently. The number is 01252 782893 and if no-one is in you can leave a message and he will respond as quickly as possible.
Other tiers of Local Government
Guildford Borough Council is responsible for planning, street cleaning, refuse collection, licensing, housing, Council tax collection and environmental issues. They can be contacted by telephoning 01483 505050 or via www.guildford.gov.uk
Surrey County Council is responsible for highways and rights of way, health, education and the libraries. This Authority can be contacted on 03456 009009 or via www.surreycc.gov.uk
If you would like . . . . .
- a say in the things that go on in and around Tongham.
- to raise issues that concern you or the village.
- to discuss matters with Parish, Borough and County Councillors
A parish council is a civil local authority found in England and is the first tier of local government. They are elected bodies, have variable powers, and are responsible for areas known as civil parishes, serving in total 16 million people. A parish council serving a town may be called a town council, and a parish council serving a city is styled a city council; these bodies have the same powers, duties and status as a parish council. Parish and town councils vary enormously in size, activities and circumstances, representing populations ranging from less than 100 to up to 100,000. Most of them are small: around 80% represent populations of less than 2,500.
There are approx. 9,000 parish and town councils in England. Over 16 million people live in communities served by these local councils, which is around 25% of the population, and about 80,000 councillors serve on these councils. Their activities fall into three main categories: representing the local community, delivering services to meet local needs, and improving quality of life and community well being.
Parish councils are funded by levying a “precept” collected from within the council tax paid by the residents of the parish. Parish councils are made up of unpaid councillors who are elected to serve for four years. A casual vacancy may be filled by by-election or co-option.